laineyg's review against another edition
4.0
(3.6/5)
I went into this with relatively low expectations, despite being aware of the overwhelming love that a lot of people seem to have for this book. My lack of faith came from my only prior experience with Rainbow Rowell: Eleanor & Park. One of few books I have DNF’d, never to be opened again, I found it immensely disappointing and have been reluctant to give Rowell another try ever since.
Pleasantly surprised! I read this in about a day and had a really good time with it. I definitely understand why this book it is so loved.
The Good:
Simon Snow is a great protagonist. I liked that while he is known to have this great power, he literally has no clue how to use or control it. I’m always annoyed when characters seem to have limitless power without a catch behind it (*coughs* Alina Starkov), so having a main character flawed in both his abilities and, let’s be honest, his personality at times was nice.
Well-paced. There was rarely a lull and even the slower section at the beginning felt more exciting because of the mystery of where-the-hell-is-Baz.
The “love triangle” didn’t end up being much of a love triangle at all so hello! Let’s celebrate that!
The Okay:
While Simon and Baz are adorable and my heart smiles for them, it was a little rushed. I mean this mainly on Simon’s end, because while the entire time he was saying Baz was his enemy and all that I knew there was more to it, I was still caught off guard when all of a sudden he was totally reciprocating Baz’s feelings. I just think their story could’ve been more meaningful with a little more patience on Rowell’s part.
The Mage was not a good villain. He was barely present throughout the entire story and it was painfully obvious that he was the villain the entire time, which made that “reveal” a lot less impactful.
Also, the Humdrum makes no sense to me. That might be my lack of reading comprehension, but I just didn’t understand what that was about and how it was so easily resolved.
I fall to my knees, and it rushes out faster.
My fingertips tingle. I smell fire. Sparks chase themselves over my skin.
This isn’t going off, I think. This is going out.
I went into this with relatively low expectations, despite being aware of the overwhelming love that a lot of people seem to have for this book. My lack of faith came from my only prior experience with Rainbow Rowell: Eleanor & Park. One of few books I have DNF’d, never to be opened again, I found it immensely disappointing and have been reluctant to give Rowell another try ever since.
Pleasantly surprised! I read this in about a day and had a really good time with it. I definitely understand why this book it is so loved.
The Good:
Simon Snow is a great protagonist. I liked that while he is known to have this great power, he literally has no clue how to use or control it. I’m always annoyed when characters seem to have limitless power without a catch behind it (*coughs* Alina Starkov), so having a main character flawed in both his abilities and, let’s be honest, his personality at times was nice.
Well-paced. There was rarely a lull and even the slower section at the beginning felt more exciting because of the mystery of where-the-hell-is-Baz.
The “love triangle” didn’t end up being much of a love triangle at all so hello! Let’s celebrate that!
The Okay:
While Simon and Baz are adorable and my heart smiles for them, it was a little rushed. I mean this mainly on Simon’s end, because while the entire time he was saying Baz was his enemy and all that I knew there was more to it, I was still caught off guard when all of a sudden he was totally reciprocating Baz’s feelings. I just think their story could’ve been more meaningful with a little more patience on Rowell’s part.
Spoiler
The Ugly:The Mage was not a good villain. He was barely present throughout the entire story and it was painfully obvious that he was the villain the entire time, which made that “reveal” a lot less impactful.
Also, the Humdrum makes no sense to me. That might be my lack of reading comprehension, but I just didn’t understand what that was about and how it was so easily resolved.
I fall to my knees, and it rushes out faster.
My fingertips tingle. I smell fire. Sparks chase themselves over my skin.
This isn’t going off, I think. This is going out.
hoover's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
sampena16's review against another edition
4.0
Not as compelling as her other novels but still a really great story, especially reading it after Fangirl.
wolfii's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jeffreyreads's review against another edition
4.0
It took me awhile to get into this book but I made a point of wanting to read it, because it's Rainbow Rowell and I love her to death, so. It was difficult to understand the characters and their world, but once I did, it was a really great story. It's not your typical fantasy book so don't go into it expecting something like the Mortal Instruments, because it's exactly like the jacket description says, "It has all the kissing you would expect from a Rainbow Rowell book, except with way, way more monsters" (or something like that, I don't remember exactly what it said). The Simon and Baz romance was also really great, because they were it no way influenced by heteronormativity, which is nice to see.
savmcg's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sweetkalechip's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a beautiful amalgam of Chosen One stories, with a dash of meta and self-awareness. That has the possibility to be an absolute mess, but it worked.
The world building was great, to the point where the gimmicky seeming spells that initially got on my nerves made sense, and I found myself enjoying them. It made tangible the concept of "Words have power."
The resolution was bittersweet, in the way it had to be - the other options would have been unrealistically perfect or tragically dark.
The love story was well done, cute and sweet and soft without being contrived. Or existing for the sake of existing, like in so much other YA fantasy.
All around, Carry On was a fun read, and I know I'll pick it up again.
The world building was great, to the point where the gimmicky seeming spells that initially got on my nerves made sense, and I found myself enjoying them. It made tangible the concept of "Words have power."
The resolution was bittersweet, in the way it had to be - the other options would have been unrealistically perfect or tragically dark.
The love story was well done, cute and sweet and soft without being contrived. Or existing for the sake of existing, like in so much other YA fantasy.
All around, Carry On was a fun read, and I know I'll pick it up again.
viljaneito's review against another edition
5.0
Tämä oli ihana. Aivan ihana. Loppuratkaisua pitää vielä tietyiltä osin hieman sulatella, mutta rakastin tätä kannesta kanteen. Tekisi mieli aloittaa uudelleen heti.
(Simon ja Baz <3 Ei mulla muuta.)
(Simon ja Baz <3 Ei mulla muuta.)